1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shuttered adapter. More precisely, the present invention relates to a cover or door (and a mounting device or retainer to hold the door to a connector) which blocks access to the connector (e.g., a jack or an adapter or other piece of equipment) when a mating connector (e.g. a plug) is not present in the connector. Shuttered jacks or adapters are especially useful with a fiber optic connector to prevent debris from entering into the fiber optic connector and to prevent dangerous laser light from escaping from an unmated connector, which could potentially damage the eyesight of a person. However, a shuttered adapter may be used with other types of connectors, such as connectors for twisted pair cables (e.g. RJ-type jacks) by keeping an unmated connector clean in a dusty environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical shuttered adapters, in accordance with the prior art, are complex to manufacture and assemble due to multiple parts. A typical shuttered adapter has a plastic door with molded-in hinges that receive a separate metal axle and a separate spring. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a shuttered adapter 1 which has been offered for sale by the assignee of the present application for more than one year.
The shuttered adapter 1 in FIG. 1 is a duplex LC adapter formed of a plastic body 2. A metal retainer 3 wraps around a perimeter of the plastic body 2 and may be held onto the plastic body by one or more spring clips 4.
First and second metal loops 5 are formed as a part of the metal retainer 3. A metal hinge pin 6 passes through the first and second metal loops 5. The metal hinge pin 6 also passes though first and second plastic hooks or loops 7. The plastic loops 7 are integrally molded with a plastic door 8. By the stated arrangement, the plastic door 8 is pivotably mounted to the metal retainer 3, which is in turn fixed to the plastic body 2 of the adapter 1.
A metal spring 12 is helically wound about the metal hinge pin 6 between the first and second metal loops 5. A first end of the metal spring 12 is fixed to, or abuts, the metal retainer 3. An opposite end 14 of the metal spring 12 abuts the plastic door 8. The metal spring 12 applies a resilient force to the plastic door 8, which tends to keep the plastic door 8 in its closed state, as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, a user may manually open the door 8 against the biasing force of the spring 12 to insert a mating connector into the adapter 1.
An additional metal retainer 10 with additional clips 9 may optionally be attached to the plastic body 2 of the adapter 1. The additional clips 9 permit the adapter 1 to be secured to a secondary object, like a patch panel or an opening of an I/O port of a piece of equipment.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,716,224; 6,425,694; 6,715,930 and 7,340,146, each of which is incorporated herein by reference, illustrate various constructions for typical shuttered adapters.